Drawing inspiration from Parker Palmer and John Dewey, this essay explores the author's journey of learning to connect with his ninth-grade students in a summer study skills class. Using the metaphor of an "undercarriage," the author reflects on how he strengthened his capacity to endure classroom challenges. Through experimentation with…

Since ancient times, man has prepared medicines and used them in healing practices. Therefore, there has always been a great interest in the part of people in general and students in particular about medicines. The "Medicines, the Haute Couture of Pharmacy" summer camp has the objective to promote and improve the literacy in medicines…

This study aims to explore the middle schoolers' common naive conceptions of AI and the evolution of these conceptions during an AI summer camp. Data were collected from 14 middle school students (12 boys and 2 girls) from video observations and learning artifacts. The findings revealed 6 naive conceptions about AI concepts: (1) AI was the same as…

During the latter half of the 20th Century, the early blooms of spring were also a signal to the nation's teenagers: it's time to find a job. About half of all Americans between 16 and 19 years old spent part of their summer break bagging groceries or slinging ice cream until the early 2000s. Then, the youth employment rate fell sharply and stayed…

Detroit students who obtain a college degree overcome many obstacles to do so. This article reports the results of a randomized evaluation of a program meant to provide support to low-income community college students. The Detroit Promise Path program was designed to complement an existing College Promise scholarship, providing students with…

This study examined "backward transfer," which we define as how students' ways of reasoning about previously encountered concepts are modified when learning about new concepts. We examined the backward transfer produced when students learned about quadratic functions. We were specifically interested in how backward transfer may vary for…

During the summer of 2021, we taught a series of lessons on social media literacy during a 6-week summer bridge program designed to prepare students for their first year of community college. Community college students represent nearly 40% of all U.S. undergraduates (AACC, 2022), with nearly 50% of all first-generation college students attending…

A computer science camp for pre-collegiate students was operated during the summers of 2022 and 2023. The effect the camp had on attitudes was quantitatively assessed using a survey instrument. However, enrollment at the summer camp was small, which meant the well-known Pearson's Chi-Squared to measure the significance of results was not applied.…

The national need for a robust science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is significant for continued global growth and development. However, within the STEM workforce there are groups that are consistently underrepresented. Therefore, programs to bolster career interest in STEM and improve the deficits are conducted to…

In conjunction with local middle schools, the Make to Learn Lab in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia offered a two-week Summer Engineering Academy for students who completed an introductory engineering course during the previous school year. In that course, students worked with circuits and advanced…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] With the current growth in quantum information science and technology (QIST), there is an increasing need to prepare precollege students for postsecondary QIST study and careers. This mixed methods, explanatory sequential research…

A learning experience designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) should integrate the Science & Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) with science content. Such "three-dimensional learning" engages students in the epistemic components of the scientific process. Whether the Practices and CCCs are used…

This guest perspective argues that converting in-person summer pre-college program participants into matriculated, degree-seeking undergraduate students at that same institution is a multi-step process that involves: 1) strategic pre-college program recruitment, 2) a curated and well-rounded summer pre-college experience that is both academically…

Open-ended learning environments (OELEs) involve high learner agency in defining learning goals and multiple pathways to achieve those goals. These tasks involve learners transitioning through self-regulated learning (SRL) phases by actively setting goals, applying different strategies for those goals, and monitoring performance to update their…

Amid growing concerns about students' declining interest and proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] subjects, this study underscores the urgent need for innovative educational interventions. It does so by investigating the impact of week-long residential STEM summer camps on the career interests of middle and high…